Peregrine chicks arrive at Salisbury Cathedral!
The last one should arrive very soon
Last updated 27th Apr 2022
The team at Salisbury Cathedral have been taken by surprise as three of the peregrine falcon chicks have already hatched.
The first one was spotted at around 9am yesterday (Tuesday 26th April), with the second arriving at about 1:22pm.
The third appeared earlier this morning.
The last one is expected to hatch very soon.
Hatching is a strenuous business for a small chick.
Whilst inside the egg it lies curled up, head tucked under a wing, but when hatching starts it does a number of things over a period of about 72 hours.
It absorbs the remaining egg yolk to give it energy and then a special muscle called the hatching muscle, which is located at the back of its neck, snaps into action.
As the muscle contracts it pulls the chick’s head up, bringing the hard pointed area on the top of the chick’s beak, called the egg tooth, into contact with the shell.
Once the egg tooth cracks the shell, the tiny chick is committed to hours of work before it is free of its shell.
You can keep an eye on when the last one appears by going to the live stream on the Cathedral website.